'Oh, this could have been me!'

Condolences to the family of Pete Sayers whose life was lost in the accident in Worthington last weekend and "get well soon" wishes to his wife who was seriously injured.

I met Pete back in his days at the "Pour House" and no, I wasn't out painting the town -- our discussions were about advertising his business in the paper. To me, he was always a regular down-home guy who was easy to talk to -- I know he will be sorely missed by his children and friends.

Accidents with injuries and even loss of life have happened now and then in the Worthington area, but it's been a long time since one so tragic right in town. And with Pete being a long-time member of the community, his loss saddened many.

It was also a wake-up call that caused us to think about our own driving habits.

When the accident report came in from the WPD, and I read the narrative about who was going in which direction and how this came about, one of my first thoughts was, "Oh, this could have been me!" Me, not on the motorcycle coming up the hill from town, but me in a vehicle coming up over the hill from the river bridge, rounding the curve and taking an automatic swerve to the left onto Smith Ferry Road -- the short-cut quickie route down into town.

I'm not saying the driver of the truck took an automatic swerve, like I have so many times, because that's not what the accident report said.

What I am saying is that I have taken that left turn hundreds and hundreds of times in my lifetime and too many times I have done it in such a way that if there had been a vehicle oncoming up that hill, well, this could have happened to me.

Since the accident, I have heard others talk of close calls at that intersection, and more than one admit they have taken a swerve too fast for safety.

We're all usually quick to place blame on someone for their actions whenever there's an accident, but this one is unusual in that I've heard more people talk about how we all drive that curve and how we need to pay more attention.

It's not much consolation for Pete's family to say we'll be driving that stretch more carefully in the future, but for the guy who was behind the wheel of the truck, and his family, I've got to say, I'll be slowing down there, making sure my turn signal is on, and looking more carefully to see who's coming. So will others.

Best wishes to the driver of the truck in your own recovery from this accident, and appreciation to our police officers and first responders who were on the scene.

Be safe!

Anna is a staff writer at the Greene County Daily World and can be reached by calling 847-4487 or by sending an email to indianarose@fastmail.us .